How to Install Comp Cams’ Solid Roller – Get Rolling

Can a solid roller cam improve street driving, track performance, and broaden the power band?

If one thing truly leads to another, you can say the head and exhaust swap we performed on the Balls of Fury (Charlie and Chad Pirchio’s ’64 Sport Fury) in the August ’13 issue (Two Bolt-ons Bring 81 Horsepower) led us to this cam swap. We felt we were leaving a bunch of power on the table with the hydraulic flat tappet cam profile that was in the 440, ergo, we put in a call to Comp Cams thinking we could harness that power with one of their modern, solid roller designs.

We’ve learned from years of previous cam swap testing (flat tappet to roller with the same duration but roughly .100-inch more valve lift) has always meant a stronger running engine with a smoother idle, more low-end, mid-range, and top-end power. That’s close to what we were going for this time. We wanted more peak torque at a lower rpm for bottom-end grunt, and gains in peak horsepower at a higher rpm for a broader power-band and top-end charge.

When choosing a cam, it’s better to make a conservative choice for your combination’s intended purpose. Just remember: the stick with the most lift with the same duration will make for a more responsive engine, thus making for a nice street driver. Choose one from the catalog that is recommended to match your combination (engine size, compression ratio, heads, induction, exhaust, gear ratio, converter stall, vehicle weight, rpm range, etc.) or call one of the cam companies—they have experts on their help lines. If you look-up the cam involved in this swap, you’ll notice it’s only a middle choice of the street-roller type, yet it makes a lot of power over the old, outdated flat-tappet cam profiles that have been around over 30 years. Never choose a race-type cam for your street driver, or you’ll have a ride with terrible drivability and efficiency.

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Technology advancements in camshaft/valvetrain design and durability have come a long way in recent years. We took advantage of this and put it to use in a typical street-type 440 to have even better drivability and efficiency. Besides gains in drivability and power, a side benefit can be improved fuel mileage. We didn’t measure it, but we used less fuel driving to the dyno and the strip. Maybe we stumbled on the perfect cam for our combination. Read along and see the cam installation and how we made out on the dyno and dragstrip.

Price Tag

Part

PN

Cost

Comp Cams’ street roller

PN 23-701-9

$332.97

Comp Cams’ timing set

PN 3125

$72.97

ARP Bolts

PN 244-1001

$5.13

Comp Cams’ roller button

PN 204

$22.97

Comp Cams’ roller lifter

PN 866-16

$534.97

Comp Cam’s oil

PN 1595-12

$89.97

Comp Cams’ valve springs

PN 953-16

$129.97

Comp Cams’ retainer

PN 732-16

$291.97

Comp’s Pro Magnum rocker arms

PN 1621-16

$679.97

Comp Cams’ pushrods

PN 7922-16

$154.97

Milodon bronze distributor drive

PN 21525

$124.97

Never initially run an engine at high rpm. Limit rpm to 1,500-2,000 until it reaches normal operating temperature.